By Billy Steele<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an age when we all have a tiny\ncomputer in our pockets, it’s important that we learn to limit screen time in\nfavor of actual human interaction and productivity. It’s even more essential\nthat we limit media consumption for children, especially since they’re being\nexposed to things like phones and tablets at an increasingly younger age. Those\ndevices are part of kids’ lives earlier than ever, so it’s important to keep\ntabs on how often they use them or watch TV. There are a number of reasons why\nyou should do this as a parent, and, ironically, there’s also a range of tech\navailable to help with the task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\ncase for limiting screen time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While it may seem like common sense,\nthere’s a lot of research that demonstrates why limiting screen time for\nchildren is a great idea. Yes, there are age-appropriate apps, games, movies,\nTV shows and more, and they’re all rated so you know what’s appropriate for a\n12-year-old or for a preschooler. But even with ratings and appropriate\ncontent, you still need to actively manage screen time to ensure proper growth\nand development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Studies show that too much screen\ntime can have a lot of negative effects on your child. Those issues range from\nthe mental (problems with school and paying attention) to the physical (trouble\nsleeping, eating disorders and obesity). There can also be developmental\neffects for children who spend too much time with electronic devices at a young\nage. A study from the Cleveland Clinic<\/a> found\nthat excessive screen time for a two-year-old led to lower developmental\noutcomes by three years old, and the same for a four-year-old by the time they\nturned five. Researchers found that things like developing necessary motor\nskills, a phase that’s completed through physical activity, can’t take place if\na child is occupied (and stationary) by a screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Too much screen time at a young age\ncan also hinder eye development. If a child spends too much time inside, it can lead to nearsightedness<\/a>.\n“Exposure to natural daylight is critical to developing eyes,” Ayesha\nMalik, a pediatric optometrist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia,\nexplains. “Kids need time playing outside for their health, but also for\ntheir eyes.” Malik also notes that staring at a screen too much can lead\nto eye fatigue, dry\/irritated eyes and trouble transitioning focus distances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\nare good limits?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The American Academy of Pediatrics\n(AAP) recommends no media use for kids under 18 months. From 18 to 24 months,\nonly “high quality programming” should be the norm, and you should\nplan to watch it with your child. For two-to-five-year-olds (preschoolers), the\nAAP says you should limit screen time to an hour per day. The organization\nactually lowered this number in 2016<\/a>,\ncutting the daily limit in half (from two hours to one). And again, the AAP\nrecommends co-viewing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond five years, the AAP says the\nmost important thing is to be consistent about limits. There’s no set\nrecommendation other than to be sure time spent on a phone or tablet, or\nwatching TV, doesn’t replace physical activity, sleep or “other behaviors\nessential to health.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n There have been studies that suggest\nthis one-hour figure is too restrictive. In 2017, researchers from the Oxford Internet\nInstitute and Cardiff University<\/a> measured the impact of screen\ntime on caregiver attachment, emotional resilience, curiosity and overall\npositive emotion\/response. They found that keeping screen time limited to one\nto two hours per day for two-to-five-year-olds “showed slightly higher\nlevels of resilience, this was balanced by lower levels of positive\naffect.” In other words, the team found that there was no direct link to a\nchild’s well-being for a strict one-to two-hour limit on daily screen time. In\nadolescents, researchers discovered “moderate screen-use above the\nrecommended limits might actually be linked to slightly higher levels of\nchildren’s wellbeing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The key word there is\n“moderate.” Even though the study finds that the AAP’s limits could\nbe a little too confining, the authors still point out moderation is key. They\nalso explain that the so-called co-viewing that the AAP recommends is important\nfor increased screen time to have a positive effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “If anything, our findings\nsuggest the broader family context, how parents set rules about digital screen\ntime, and if they’re actively engaged in exploring the digital world together,\nare more important than the raw screen time,” Andrew Przyzbylski, the\nstudy’s lead author and an associate professor and director of research at the\nOxford Internet Institute, explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make\na plan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The AAP has a set of guidelines<\/a> for\ncreating a media plan for your family. There are 13, so I won’t go into detail\nhere, but they include things like co-viewing, creating tech-free zones,\nencouraging face-to-face communication, avoiding technology as a pacifier,\ndoing your homework and the discussing dangers for teens. The organization also\nhas online tools<\/a> for both\ncreating a plan and calculating your child’s screen time based on other daily\nactivities. Of course, there’s a difference between making a plan and sticking\nto it. But you can’t stick to one if you don’t make it in the first place.\nRemember to be open to making changes as the demands of life and other\nresponsibilities vary from month to month. What works during the school year\nmay not be effective during summer vacation, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have a plan in place, there\nare a number of apps and other tech that can help you stick to your goals. And\nthe good news is, you probably already have some of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Billy Steele In an age when we all have a tiny computer in our pockets, it’s important that we learn to limit screen time in favor of actual human interaction and productivity. It’s even more essential that we limit media consumption for children, especially since they’re being exposed to things like phones and tablets Continue reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":872,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/charafeddine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/charafeddine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/charafeddine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/charafeddine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/872"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/charafeddine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/charafeddine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161,"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/charafeddine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160\/revisions\/161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/charafeddine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/charafeddine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iblog.dearbornschools.org\/charafeddine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}